UH defenders must save their hits for later

The popping was loud in individual drills yesterday as Hawaii added shoulder pads to its fall camp wardrobe. But woe to the defensive player who hits someone in white -- or even worse, orange -- too hard.

You gotta save that for Saturdays in September, son.

Somebody asked Tyson Kafentzis if something was wrong with him. That was very un-Kafentzis-like to pull up short on a potential big hit. Kafentzis ended up colliding with fellow defender Dane Porlas.

"I saw 7 (Davone Bess), and if I ever lay a finger on him," Kafentzis followed with the throat-slash sign.

He probably wouldn't get cut, but he could get a stay in the doghouse that would cost him dearly in the long line competing for work at safety. Kafentzis is a fourth-year junior. He knows the drill -- don't drill.

Alasi Toilolo is a different story. The grayshirt defensive end from Kapolei hasn't had access to a quarterback's blindside since high school two years ago. He almost got himself into big trouble by beating his man and taking advantage of a clear path to Colt Brennan. Hitting the Heisman candidate would be a big no-no.

"I know what you want to do," defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold said. "But don't ever get that close to him again."

The defenders got to knock each other around, though. The noise from a collision between safeties Erik Pedersen and Erik Robinson resounded through the practice field.

"That's just me, man. I bring the wood, man," Robinson said. "A little contact, that's what I bring to the team. But everything was just cool. You know, get the boys fired up."

Pedersen said the obvious; contact is what it's all about. It's why a lot of the guys play.

"First day of pads is a fun day," the former linebacker said. "We just want to show we can hit and have some fun."

DA BESS:

During the scrimmage, Bess showed why he has back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons. He caught five passes and wended his way through the defense for plenty of yards-after-catch.

"Davone showed up today," coach June Jones understated.

There were a few dropped passes, but that's normal for this stage of camp.

Second-year freshman wideout Greg Salas looked good in work with the first and second teams. Against the scout team, he hauled in a pass near the sideline after tipping it to himself while barely staying in bounds.

"We like Greg a lot," Brennan said. "He did a lot of great things on the scout team last year. We think he can make some plays for us."

Salas is behind another 1,000-yard receiver, X-wideout Jason Rivers.

"I think I can get some playing time this year because of the way our offense is," Salas said.

SCHOOL'S IN:

Francis Maka has a little more on his mind than most of his teammates during the early portion of camp.

The senior defensive end still has some work to do in summer school in order to be eligible. Maka, who enrolled at UH in the spring as a junior college transfer, has been cleared to practice while he attends the final week of the Manoa summer session.

"There's pressure because, like my mom and my coach said, I have no room for error," Maka said yesterday. "I kind of let everything slip up last semester, so my window of opportunity is closing."

Maka is taking third-semester calculus and geography this session and missed Friday's conditioning test due to his class schedule.

"Coach said school takes priority, so if I have to miss some I'll miss it," Maka said.

SHORT YARDAGE:

Brennan finally cut his dreadlocks in-training, in favor of a close-cropped look. "I had photo shoots with Sports Illustrated and CSTV, and it was the worst hair ever." ... David Farmer was the first-string running back yesterday, but Leon Wright-Jackson did turn in a very impressive cutback move against the scout team defense.

Jason Kaneshiro and Brian McInnis of the Star-Bulletin contributed to this report